DO-IT-YOURSELF : Putting Ice Maker in Permanent Cold Storage

If you’ve often wanted an ice maker, but somehow missed the opportunity when you bought your refrigerator, you’ll be glad to know that you can install one on your refrigerator without much trouble.

Installing an after-market ice maker kit is easy. It takes less than an hour to complete.

Expect to pay around $120 for the ice maker and an additional $15 for a saddle-tap valve and the copper tubing that serves as the feed line.

Always choose an ice maker that is the same make as your refrigerator.

While it is possible to install an ice maker in a refrigerator that was not built for one, it’s a complicated retrofit and should be left to professionals.

If your refrigerator was built to accept an ice maker, you’ll find a rectangular access panel at the back of the appliance, along with two knockout openings identified for ice-maker use. Also, the appliance will have a labeled cover plate inside the freezer and several capped screw holes on the adjacent sidewall.

To connect the ice maker, you will need access to a cold water line, either through a sink cabinet or in the basement.

Installation highlights start with unplugging your refrigerator and pulling it forward. While the ice maker will be mounted in the freezer, most of the work will take place at the back of the refrigerator.

Next, loosen the screws on the cover plate inside the freezer and drop the plate.

Remove the ice maker access panel on the refrigerator’s back and the access panel below it that conceals the compressor. Behind the ice-maker access panel, you’ll find some electrical wiring with a three-wire electrical slot connector and two knockout openings. Push the water tube through the top opening and screw the tube’s flange to the cabinet.

Next, feed the four-wire end of the wiring harness into the freezer compartment. Press the connector on the wiring harness into the equivalent connector that was pre-installed on the refrigerator.

Next, install the plastic water line down the back of the refrigerator to the solenoid valve in the compressor compartment. Press the remaining wire-harness connector onto the brass solenoid prongs, and mount the solenoid valve to the refrigerator cabinet, just inside the compressor compartment. Connect the copper water-inlet tube between the solenoid valve and water inlet.

Mount the saddle-tap valve on the cold water pipe. Trim the feed line to length and connect it to the saddle valve.

The remaining steps are inside the freezer. Begin by sliding the water tube extension spout onto the water tube, so that the spout reaches well into the freezer compartment. Place the ice maker in the compartment and press the two halves of the electrical connection together until they lock.

To mount the ice maker on the freezer wall, pry the screw-hole caps from the wall using a putty knife and screw the ice maker in place and level it.

Wash out the ice bin and slide the bin under the ice maker and reinstall the remaining access cover. Twist the handle on the saddle tap valve clockwise, so it pierces the pipe. Open the tap by turning it counterclockwise.

Plug the refrigerator in and slide it back in place. Finally, set the fill level knob midway between “high” and “low” and allow the ice maker to cycle for 24 hours to purge air from the water line.